1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the art of apparatus for closing and sealing boxes and more particularly to machines for closing telescoping boxes and sealing the edges thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of machines are known to the art for sealing boxes. The present invention deals primarily with telescoping corrugated containers, so the prior art will be described primarily with reference to apparatus used with such boxes. A telescoping box is one which includes two separate parts, a top and a bottom. The bottom part has a flat bottom and four side walls extending upwardly therefrom. The top part has a flat top and four side walls extending downwardly therefrom. The depth of the side walls of the top and bottom portions are substantially the same. The top is just slightly larger than the bottom so that it can be placed thereover and pressed down to form a closed box with double thickness sides. Sealing of the box takes place after the two parts are "telescoped" to their closed position, e.g., by taping, strapping and the like.
These types of boxes are different from the somewhat more conventional flap-type corrugated containers and have particular utility in numerous industries for packing a wide variety of products. Telescoping boxes are used for packing and shipping clothing, produce, appliances and the like. Products packaged in such boxes are protected by the double side wall thickness and, to a limited extent, the loading of the boxes is easier because the labor force need not be concerned with the flaps of standard corrugated shipping containers.
While the use of telescoping boxes is quite widespread, there are several problems in the closing and sealing thereof which have not been resolved in the prior art. These problems relate to automation of these processes. The problems can best be illustrated by reference to one typical process now being used to close and seal such boxes. In this process, clothing to be packaged and shipped is placed in the bottom portion of the box and the top portion is placed loosely thereover. The filled box moves down a conveyor to a closure and strapping station where an operator manually pushes the top down over the bottom. The box is then aligned in a strapping machine which subsequently wraps a band of plastic material around two sides and the top and bottom of the box, cuts the plastic and joins the ends of the plastic strap. At this point in the process, the sealing machine opens and the operator reaches in the machine and rotates the partially sealed box 90.degree.. The strapping machine then wraps another band of plastic over the top and bottom and around the other two sides of the box, cuts the plastic and joins the ends thereof to complete the seal.
The aforementioned process has several important disadvantages. For one thing, the process is labor intensive in that a full-time operator is required for the machine, i.e. to rotate the box after each one-half of the closing and sealing process. This manipulation is also time consuming because the wrapping step is much faster than the manipulation step. In plants having a large number of boxes to be closed and sealed, the time required for rotating individual boxes may even lead to the need for a larger number of machines than would be required if the time consuming step was not present. Another problem with this particular prior art process and apparatus, is the material cost for the plastic band. These costs may amount to five-six cents or more for medium size boxes.
Other techniques are also being employed by manufacturers for closing and sealing telescoping boxes. Many plants are still conducting the operation by hand using hand taping machines. In effect, this process involves the use of hand held taping guns which dispense a preselected length of tape. The operator presses the tape onto one edge of a side wall to affix the tape and then pulls tape from a tape roll as the gun is drawn down the side and under the bottom of the box. When a preselected amount of tape has been removed from the roll, a cutter on the tape machine slices the tape and prepares a new piece of tape for the next sealing operation. This process is also very labor intensive and inefficient.
To the knowledge of the present inventor, there are no known machines which have the capability of quickly and cheaply closing and sealing the four edges of a telescoping box without the need for extensive manual operations or the need to manipulate (e.g., rotate) the box. A device for simultaneously closing and sealing telescoping boxes would be a significant advance in the art.